Regaining Trust
by Arwennicole
Summary: During and after “Maternity Leave” Charlie will do anything for Claire and Aaron. However, can Claire let Charlie back into her life? COMPLETED!
1. Fear

Regaining Trust

By

Nicole

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Lost_. I'm just borrowing them for this story.**

**Summary: During and after "Maternity Leave" Charlie will do anything for Claire and Aaron. However, can Claire let Charlie back into her life?**

Chapter 1: Fear

Charlie was sitting on the beach watching as the waves hit the sand. Everyone else were sound asleep as always. However, Charlie looked over his shoulder when he heard Aaron's cries. He could see Claire walking back and forth trying to calm the baby down. Charlie felt the jealousy rise when Claire ran to Lock for help. How he despised that man. Claire used to come to him if there was something wrong with Aaron. Now she ran to Lock , it broke Charlie's heart knowing that she would never trust him again.

As the night went on, Aaron?s cries were embedding themselves into Charlie's head. Charlie buried his head in his hands as he tried to block out the baby's wails. He placed his head under the blanket and fell asleep trying to block the sounds. Claire looked over at Charlie's hut to see his back turned to her and his head was under the blanket. She had no idea that Charlie was slowly dying inside being without her and Aaron, that all Charlie wanted was to be with them once again. However, Claire wasn't even thinking close to what Charlie was thinking at that moment, she was thinking about Aaron's life.

The next morning, Charlie was walking along the beach when he saw Kate holding Aaron. Claire was in a meditating state with Libby helping her. However, his heart stopped when he heard her scream and Libby was trying to calm her down. "It was Ethan! I saw Ethan! I saw him, it was Ethan," Claire babbled. Charlie wanted run up and take Claire into his arms in one brief second, but the pain came back when he remembered that he couldn't be near her or Aaron. "That room is real, it's real. Kate, please help me find it?" Claire begged. Charlie watched as Kate left and Claire got ready to leave the camp.

Claire looked over, after her little scare from the flashback, and saw Charlie staring at her. She held his glance for a brief second before walking off to Sun's hut to have her take care of Aaron while she went to find the medicine that she saw in her flashback. While in the back of her mind, it was bugging her that Charlie has had that sad look on his face for awhile now, but all this time she just ignored it.

Once Claire and Kate left to find Russoe, Sun had placed Aaron into his crib and went to get something to try and cool the baby down. Charlie looked around to see if anyone was looking and he snuck over to the crib. He crouched down beside the crib and touched the baby's hand. "Hey, little guy, not feeling too good? Well, you'll be feeling better soon," he assured the whimpering baby. As he looked at the baby, Charlie felt his heart being torn into tiny pieces. "I know things haven't been great between your mum and me, and I wish there was a way I could make it all go away. I want things to go back to the way they were" Charlie trailed off. He looked over his shoulder to see if Sun was coming. "I have to make this short. I'm going to tell you this now, your mum and you were the best things that ever happened to me. I love your mum and you more than anything. I'll do anything, to get you back" he finished. Tears welled up in Charlie's eyes as he kissed the top of the baby's feverish head. "I love you, Aaron," he whispered. He looked over to see Sun coming back, he quickly left the hut before he got in trouble.

As night came, Charlie was sitting in front of the ocean thinking about what he had said to Aaron. He knew that the kid didn't understand a word he had said, but he couldn't exactly go up to Claire and say all those things to her. Charlie pulled his guitar into his lap and started strumming the strings as he thought back to how happy he felt when he was around Claire and Aaron.

When Claire came back without the medicine, she looked over to see Charlie playing his guitar. "Thank you, Sun, for watching him," Claire told her. Sun nodded as Claire picked Aaron up and took him back to her hut. However, she stopped for a second to listen to Charlie play his guitar. She shook her head slightly and set Aaron back into his crib.

The next morning, Charlie didn't hear Aaron crying. He looked over to see Jack checking the baby over and saw the relieved look on Claire's face. He knew that Aaron was doing much better. He was also relieved, because he wouldn't know what to do if the baby got worse. Now, all Charlie wanted now was to have Claire know that he meant no harm to her or Aaron.

**Author's Note: This is my first Lost story, so please be kind. Review please. **


	2. Thoughts

Chapter 2: Thoughts

A few days later, Charlie was walking through the jungle for no real apparent reason, but he knew that there could be something out there. He sat down and climbed up a tree and pulled out his water bottle. "Hey, Charlie, what are you doing out here?" Hurly asked.

"Just thinking," Charlie replied.

"Uh, dude, that's not such a good idea, sitting out here in the jungle."

"It's not like I have anything better to do."

"It's about Claire again, isn't it?"

Charlie got down from the tree and stood in front of him. "Whatever gave you that idea?" Charlie asked.

"Dude, she'll come around," Hurly told him.

"Hurly, it's been almost a month since she had me stay away from her and Aaron. I feel like my entire life has been ripped away from me."

Charlie sat down with a heavy sigh. "It feels like my whole world is falling apart. I never meant to make her think that she can never trust me. If only she would've let me explain. I can't live without her or Aaron," Charlie explained. Hurly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hang in there, man," Hurly commented.

"Yeah, sure."

Charlie got up from the ground and he walked back to camp.

As Charlie walked back to the camp, he rubbed the back of his neck and felt the scars from the hanging still there to haunt him. Sometimes he could still hear Claire screaming his name and sometimes he'll even feel the vines around his neck. He sat down and closed his eyes.

**(Flashback)**

_**Charlie could feel Claire's hand gripping his as he tried to leave a trail with the tape on his hands. He looked over to see the fear in her eyes and left another letter behind. "What are you doing?" Ethan asked. Charlie froze, knowing that Ethan had caught him. Ethan walked over and grabbed Charlie's arm to see some of the tape missing from his hand. "He's leaving a trail," he told one of the guys.**_

"**_He's too much of a risk to keep around," one of the men agreed._**

_**Claire looked at Charlie as they dragged him towards a tree. "Watch what happens when you try being a hero," another guy laughed.**_

"**_Please, don't hurt her," Charlie insisted._**

"**_You should be more worried about yourself," Ethan told him._**

_**Charlie could see Claire fighting against one of the men as the vines were wrapped around his neck. "NO!" Claire shouted. Charlie felt his feet leave the ground and the air was being knocked out of him. He suddenly felt everything getting dark and he could hear Ethan dragging Claire away. "CHARLIE!" Claire screamed.**_

**(End Flashback)**

Charlie woke up from the nightmare and saw that it was getting dark and he still had to make it back to camp. He got up from the ground and went back to camp.

Back at the camp, Claire noticed that Hurly went in after Charlie, but came back alone. She started to get worried when it started to get dark and Charlie still didn't come back. However, she heard rustling coming from the trees and saw Charlie come out. She was relieved to see that he was okay, but there was still that anger she felt when he took Aaron. Claire bit her lip as she thought about that night, but then Aaron's gurgles brought her out of her thoughts. She walked over and picked her son up. "I'm glad you're doing better, sweetie," she whispered. She kissed her son's forehead and watched as Charlie took out his guitar and started playing again. Claire loved to hear Charlie play on his guitar his music always soothed her. Now she missed it. She missed hearing his music, his jokes, and kindness. However, there was one question that kept Claire from going to talk to him. "_How can I trust you again, Charlie_?" She pondered.


	3. Let Me Explain

Chapter 3: Let me Explain

Claire was sitting in her hut holding her son in her arms. She smiled as her son wrapped his tiny hand around her finger. "You're getting big, sweetie. Everyday you seem to get bigger," she commented. She kissed Aaron's forehead and the baby let out a gurgle. "I want you to know something. If things were they way they were before between Charlie and mummy, I'm sure everything would be better than they are now. But you know, how can I trust him after what's happened? How should I believe that he won't try and take you away from me again?" She asked. Aaron just continued to make his usual baby sounds and Claire let out a sigh and touched her baby's face. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I love Charlie. I love him, but I just can't trust him. If I would be able to trust him again, he would be the perfect daddy for you. He's done so much for you and me," she confessed. A sad smile came across her face. "I'm still so angry with him that he tried taking off with you. I don't care what the reason was, he had no right to do that," she added. She sighed as Aaron just let out a yawn. "And yet, through all the lies and all the other things he's done, Charlie's a very good person," she added.

Later that day, Claire was walking along the beach with Aaron in her arms when Kate walked over to her. "Hey, how's he doing?" She asked.

"Much better," Claire replied.

Kat smiled as she touched the baby's hand. "How are you doing?" Kate asked.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" She asked.

"Well, lately, you've seemed out of it," Kate replied.

"I'm fine, I just have a lot on my mind."

"Mind telling me what it is?"

Claire sat down and looked out over the ocean. "I've been thinking a lot about Charlie and what happened," Claire stated. Kate sat down next to her. "I know what he did was wrong. And a lot has happened, but he's done a lot for Aaron and me," Claire pointed out. Claire looked down at her sleeping son. "I just feel that something's missing," she added. Kat just stared at her.

"You think you're ready to talk to him?" Kate asked.

"No…because I'm not ready to take him back into our lives," Claire replied.

Claire took a deep breath. "Charlie's the best thing that ever happened to us. And I miss how things were before I found the heroine, before Charlie took Aaron. I just want it back to where we were happy, when I was happy to have him in our lives…" Claire trailed off. Claire sighed as she handed Aaron to Kate. "Could you watch him for a bit?" She asked.

"Yeah, of course," Kate replied.

Claire kissed Aaron's forehead as she started to walk down the beach.

As Claire walked down the beach, she found herself thinking of the good times she shared with Charlie.

Sawyer was watching as both Charlie and Claire mope about the island and let out a frustrated sigh. "This is ridiculous," he mumbled. He got up and walked over to Claire. "Hey, Claire, can we stop watching the mope circus go through here and go talk to Charlie?" Sawyer asked. Claire looked at him.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"This thing going on between you and Charlie's getting ridiculous, he's miserable, you're miserable. Why don't you just go and talk to the guy?"

Claire crossed her arms over her chest staring at Sawyer. "I'm sorry, is this your business?" She asked.

"Don't take it personally, sweet heart, just now that watching both you and Charlie mope around just makes thing a little annoyed around here," Sawyer stated.

Claire sighed as she watched Sawyer head back to his spot and looked over at Charlie to see him playing his guitar once again. She took a deep breath and decided to go talk to Charlie.

Charlie was playing the guitar when a shadow cast over him. He looked over his shoulder to see Claire standing there. "Hey, Charlie," she greeted.

"Claire," he answered.

She walked over and stood beside him. "May I sit down?" She asked. Charlie was silent for a moment.

"Sure," he replied.

Claire sat beside him and watched as the waves hit the beach. "Listen…Charlie…I guess I was sort of rough on you that night. It just scared me, because I thought that you were taking Aaron away from me," she confessed.

"Yeah sure, that's it," he mumbled.

Charlie set his guitar down and looked at her. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it's not working," Charlie told her. Claire was quiet.

"What do you want me to say, Charlie? That I forgive you for what you did?" She asked.

"No…I just want you to let me explain."

**Author's Note: Please forgive me for the long update. My computer's broken so i haven't been able to update. So please be patient with me.**


	4. Back in Our Lives

Chapter 4: Back in Our Lives

Charlie sighed as he looked out at the ocean. "I would rather die than ever hurt you, Claire. You of all people should know that. I wasn't going to hurt him," he told her.

"Then what were you doing, Charlie?" She asked.

Charlie looked over at her. "I was just going to baptize him. That's it, nothing more. Then you just cut me out of your lives like I did nothing to help you. I went into that jungle and saved Aaron. I would die for Aaron. I almost died for you. I still have the scars on my neck to prove that it happened. I can hear you screaming my name when it happened. Yet, I make one mistake and all I have done was thrown out the door," he explained.

"You scared my Charlie. Ever since I found the heroine, I just don't know how to trust you anymore," she told him.

Charlie stood up with his guitar in hand. "I don't expect you to actually forgive me. I know that what I did making you think that I was kidnapping Aaron was wrong. However, every time I see you with Lock, a piece of my heart breaks off. You and Aaron are the best things that ever happened to me. I stopped using the drugs because of you. If I could turn back time and do it over, I would do it again, because you two mean that much to me. Yet every time I see you with Lock, you might as well take one of his bloody knives and shove it through my chest," Charlie informed. He was about to walk away, but stopped. "I'll say this once and then I'll be out of your lives forever. I love you Claire, I have always loved you," he confessed. Claire was in shock at his words and watched as he walked away. Charlie Pace finally admitted his feelings to her, but now, Claire didn't know what to do.

Charlie went into his hut and continued to play his guitar when Claire came in. "Anything else you'd like me to add?" He asked. Claire sighed as she kneeled in front of him.

"No…now it's my turn. I'm sorry, Charlie," she replied.

"Which part are you sorry about? For not trusting me? For believing I would hurt you like that? Or having me feel like I'm the worse person on the planet?"

Claire bit her lip and Charlie was about to play again when she grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry for everything. I was wrong not to let you explain. I was wrong to think that you would betray my trust like that. And I'm sorry for making you feel like you're the worse person on this planet," she replied. Charlie was about to say something when she gestured for him to stop. "And…I want to add that these last few weeks were like a nightmare to me," she added. Charlie looked at her confused and she let out a sigh. "I can't live without you. You're right, you've done so much for Aaron and me and I repaid you by kicking you out of our lives. I was wrong to do that. I also want to say that I love you too," she answered. Charlie looked at her in disbelief.

"What?" He asked.

"I love you," she replied.

She placed her hands on his face. "I love you so much," she added. Charlie placed his hands over hers and smiled at her.

"I love you too, from the first day we met on the beach I fell head over heels in love with you. You complete me," he told her.

"You complete mine and Aaron's lives."

Charlie then held her hands in his as he leaned over and kissed her. Claire wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. When they pulled back, Claire smiled. "Would you like to move back to our hut?" She asked. Charlie touched her face before answering.

"I'd love to," he replied.

He grabbed his stuff and they walked back to "their" hut.

Kate looked up when Charlie and Claire came back to the camp. "Hey, is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, everything's okay," Claire replied.

Kate stood up and handed Aaron over to Claire. Claire walked over to Charlie with a smile. "Hey, sweet heart, look who's back," Claire murmured. Charlie put his stuff down and took Aaron into his arms.

"Hey buddy, Charlie's back," he announced.

He kissed the baby's forehead before looking at Claire. Claire smiled, knowing that everything was going to be okay, knowing that Charlie was never going to go back on the path of drugs and destruction. Maybe in time, they would become the family she always dreamt of. Charlie looked over at Claire and thought the same thing.

**Author's Note: Thank you all for those who reviewed my story. I plan on writing another Charlie/Claire story, Change of Fate. Watch out for it.**


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